An historic mural previously thought to be an urban legend was uncovered this week on the floor of a private club during renovations.

The metre-long leopard painting was found in the centre of the Leopards Club’s ballroom on Tuesday as a work crew replaced tiles.

Calvin Smith, the club’s president, surmised the artwork had been there since at least 1955 when the building was purchased.

He added that the painting represented a core piece of the organisation’s history and the principle, of equality on which it was founded.

Mr Smith said: “This is a proud moment — and I use the term purposefully — for Blacks.

“We don’t understand the struggle that people went through in 1949. This goes back to a significant start of change.

“So when you look at what this represented, I can only imagine what this represented to people back in 1950 and what it would mean to them today — to walk into this place and see this. I’m on the verge of tears.”

Demar Taylor, a member of the Instant Maintenance work crew, said he found the mural while sanding down an unusually thick spread of mortar — only to come face-to-face with the big cat.

He explained: “I started to remove this stuff, but I noticed that it was really hard.

“I figured there was something underneath it, so I got the grinder and started to rub it.

Mr Taylor added: “The first thing I saw was the head. I was like ‘what is this doing here?’.

“I started to rub it more and rub it more and I saw it was an animal, but I didn’t think it was a leopard.”

Renovations started in mid-January ahead of plans to rent the space as a form of extra revenue.

Mr Smith said that the leopard’s existence was earlier believed to be a myth that spread around club patrons as folk history.

Regardless, he said that crews were instructed to be extra careful in digging up the tiles in case the mural did indeed surface.

Mr Smith said: “We’ve been carefully excavating this floor because we were told it was in the front of the dancefloor.

“This young man was prepping for tile to go down and found a patch of mortar, so he had to chip the mortar away and found this.”

He added: “It was a myth until half an hour ago. It took us about eight hours to take up the dancefloor because we didn’t want to ruin this leopard.”

Mr Smith said that Leopards Club bought the building in 1955 under the direction of its fourth president, Russell Pearman.

He added that the club was founded in 1949 as a private club that would accept Black Bermudians, Portuguese immigrants, working class people and women — all of whom were rejected from other social clubs.

Mr Smith explained that the leopard represented “a very segregated time in Bermuda” and was “a symbol of that movement for equality during a very segregated Bermuda”.

He added: “Back then, Black people owning businesses in town was unheard of, so just the purchase of the building was historic.”

The Leopards Club ballroom has been idle for several years, with several past presidents having tried to renovate the ballroom — only to find they lacked the funds to do so.

Office space, housing, shops and even a day rest facility had been suggested for the space.

Mr Smith said the club was finally able to get the ball rolling after a grant from the Bermuda Government.

He added that, now that the myth has been proven real, he wanted to preserve the leopard as a piece of history that could resonate with others.

Mr Smith explained: “The majority of our members are 65-plus — they would’ve been around during this period when this was painted, so for them to come and see this is going to take them back to a place that we can only imagine.”

He said that the club would weigh up options on how to preserve the painting, including laying tile around it and covering the mural with clear acrylic.

The renovations are expected to be completed by the end of the month, in time for the club’s 77th anniversary.